November 10, 2016
Staff and Wire Report
California voters weighed in on tax hike Measure M, and decided that, yes, they will approve of Metropolitan Transit Authority raising over a billion dollars for new projects. Proponents in this city said the much needed hike would create more than 400,000 jobs and new opportunities for Angelenos who need it most. Mayor Eric Garcetti, stomped hard for the measure, visiting black churches like West Angeles, and encouraging his constituents to get out and vote.
Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas was also a big supporter of the measure.
“This is also about jobs, jobs and more jobs,” he said.
“There is no other public construction project in this state that will generate 400,000+ jobs.”
M is an extension of Measure R, which voters approved in 2008. It is the fourth tax increase to help fund transportation projects here in Los Angeles.
The increase will become effective January 1, 2017 and remain in place until voters decide to end it. The measure also calls for regular independent audits to ensure accountability and transparency.
Garcetti said that Measure M was about people and their stories like the dilemma faced by an 82-year-old veteran without a public transportation option to get medicine or a South Los Angeles child who never visited the beach.
“Now with the Expo Line open to Santa Monica, all that public transportation fulfills the dream that lives within you. It’s the church network that makes sure that we touch the lives of individuals,” said Garcetti.
“I know many congregations have been impacted by Metro’s construction and expansion efforts,” said Bishop Charles E. Blake of West Angeles at an October breakfast meeting.
“But the good news is that we will all reap the benefits of an expanded and more reliable system that relieves traffic.
“At West Angeles COGIC, we have first-hand knowledge of the benefits of affordable and reliable transportation. Many of our congregants come to church by train and the Metro line and our employees use it to come to work.”
November 03, 2016
LAWT News Service
In advance of the final week before Election Day, Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Vice-Chair Eric Garcetti was welcomed last Sunday by Bishop Charles Blake and his congregation at the West Angeles Church in God and Christ to speak about the importance of voting and of Measure M, the Los Angeles County Traffic Improvement Plan.
Bishop Blake and this newspaper have endorsed Measure M, which Mayor Garcetti described as potentially more directly impactful on the daily lives Los Angeles County residents than anything else on the ballot.
“This election has been tiring, but let me tell you, I am not too tired to vote,” Garcetti said. “Voting honors those who shed blood so we can participate in democracy, and voting is how we are able to have a direct impact on issues fundamental to our daily lives, such as traffic congestion.”
“Here in L.A. County, our daily purgatory, our daily inferno, is traffic congestion. It is in our hands, through the exercise of our democratic duty at the ballot box, to do something about it,” he added.
Measure M would extend the Crenshaw/LAX line north from Crenshaw and Exposition Boulevards, right outside the doors of West Angeles Church, to Hollywood. It will improve the Blue Line, upgrade the Vermont Corridor with either a Rapid Bus line or rail line from Hollywood to 120th Street; will improve freeways including the 105, the 110 and the 405 South Bay Curve; and will immediately fill potholes and repave roads in South L.A. and in every L.A. County community.
Independent analyses of Measure M have found it will reduce the time people are stuck in traffic by 15 percent and that it will create 465,000 jobs.
At an event on Crenshaw Blvd. in support of Measure M earlier this month, Bishop Blake said: "Measure M will generate good paying jobs for this community. We are united in support Measure M. We will all reap the benefits of a more reliable transportation system that relieves traffic. At West Angeles Church of God in Christ, we know first hand the benefits of affordable and accessible transportation because the Expo line is right here. We are excited about Measure M.”
Measure M is endorsed by a broad coalition of faith leaders, including Rev. John Cager, President of the AME Ministerial Alliance; Pastor Edgar Boyd of First A.M.E Church; and Apostle Beverly BAM Crawford of Bible Enrichment Fellowship International Church. It is also endorsed by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party; the New Frontier Democratic Club; the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO; the Crenshaw Chamber of Commerce; and the AARP.
Measure M will keep senior, disabled, and student fares affordable and will provide critical earthquake retrofitting for overpasses and bridges.
A recent Texas A&M analysis found that traffic congestion costs the average commuter in our region $1,711, including from wasted fuel and lost productivity. All together, drivers in our region lose 622 million hours stuck in traffic a year, for a total cost of $13.3 billion, according to the analysis. The L.A. County population is projected to increase by 2.3 million.
Measure M will modernize L.A. County’s aging transportation system and build a twenty-first century transportation network that expands subway, light rail, Rapid Bus, Metrolink, freeways, and highways.
Measure M adds and accelerates transit lines and finally ties them together into a comprehensive system that will work with an improved freeway and local road network.
October 27, 2016
The U.S. Black Chambers, the only national advocacy organization working solely to advance Black businesses and building economic power in the Black community, was named Distinguished Advocate of the Year. The award, given by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency was announced as part of the 2016 National Minority Enterprise Development Week Award winners. This is the first year USBC has earned this award.
Each year MBDA honors “Champions of Minority Business Development” through its National MED Week. The initiative recognizes the achievements of minority entrepreneurs, along with those individuals and organizations that have demonstrated leadership and commitment in advancing global minority business enterprise.
“Each year the U.S. Black Chambers’ commitment to building the economic power of the Black community is strengthened. Whether talking to officials in the federal administration, or working with larger corporations, advocacy on behalf of small business and economic empowerment is a cornerstone of our work,” said Ron Busby, Sr., the president and CEO of the U.S. Black Chambers. “USBC’s partnerships are key to our success, and to the success of the Black community. We’re proud to be honored by the Minority Business Development Agency, and look forward to our continued collaborative work.”
October 20, 2016
City News Service
The city of Los Angeles saw a modest 2.9 percent growth in revenue in the 2015-16 fiscal year, which is not as strong as in previous years, according to a preliminary financial report released on October 13 by Controller Ron Galperin.
Galperin’s review of the city's 2015-16 fiscal year found that revenue grew by $148 million for the city. Property tax revenue growth came in flat and was partly made up for by a record-setting 14 percent growth in hotel tax revenue.
Meanwhile, expenses were up $273 million, which includes a $85 million increase in salaries and an additional $44 million in liability claim costs, according to the report.
The city was able to stem about $33 million in further expenses through debt restructuring, the report said.
The city also fell behind on its reserve fund goals, beginning the 2016- 17 fiscal year with the “lowest year-start reserve fund since 2012-13, reversing a three-year trend of growth,” the controller’s financial analysts wrote.
The city put away 5.99 percent of the budget, or $334.2 million, into the reserve fund, which barely surpasses the five percent policy goal.
Galperin wrote that his report “demonstrates that the city’s fiscal condition continues to be strong,” but “revenue is not growing as quickly as it has in prior years, and the reserve fund is only slightly above the five percent goal established by policy.”
“These two factors dictate caution as the city proceeds into another fiscal year certain to feature unanticipated needs and high-priority policy discussions,” he said.
The controller’s report can be found at http://www.lacontroller.org/fy_2015_16_preliminary_financial_report.